Monday, April 8, 2013

Getting My First Book Over the Finish Line

I am a huge, borderline stalker fan of writer David Sedaris
and have been to many of his readings and book signings over the years. Sitting
in the audience of this master memoirist, listening to his fragile and often hilarious
voice, I am always transported and never fail to connect to him in an
extraordinarily personal way. This oft-repeated experience translates into me
buying five to ten copies of whatever book he is selling and then waiting on
line for hours so he can sign them all. Then I tell everyone I know and like to
buy it because it’s a good read and he smiles at me when we chat.

So, it should come as no surprise that after publishing my own
memoir this past October, “Breast Left Unsaid,” I was already sold on using the
same format, albeit smaller in scope, to get people talking about and hopefully
buying my book. I have done some acting
in my day so it’s sort of a natural for me.Truth be told, it’s also how I edit. I read aloud as if in front of a large and
rapt audience that has paid good money to see me; I gesture and modulate my
voice appropriately, and imagine myself wearing something quite fabulous yet
understated.

While I was writing the book though, I never proactively
thought about marketing or sales. “Breast Left Unsaid: A True and Uncensored
Story of Survival” recounts an 18-month period in my life when a Mid-Life Category
5 Hurricane unleashed wave after wave of damage on me, including but not
limited to a divorce and a breast cancer diagnosis. I wrote to make sense of it
all. I wrote and edited and re-wrote and polished until I was satisfied I was
telling my story with honesty, humor and a compelling narrative, but at no time
did I stop and think, “Who is my audience? What is my target demographic?” This is partly because right up until I
completed the manuscript I was still deciding whether I would actually publish and lay bare my soul, my boobs
and my loved ones in such a public way – and the other part is that as a
first-time author, I was completely and woefully ignorant about the process.
All I knew was that I had this story; this terrifying, hilarious and absurd roller-coaster
of a tale to tell, and my overwhelming instinct was to just finish it.

However, in January 2011, two weeks after I put the period
on the final sentence of the manuscript, which ends on a hopeful and I daresay,
positive note, the universe saw fit to take me down a scary new path; I was
diagnosed with a serious recurrence of breast cancer. It had spread to the
lungs and liver. I was now the dreaded and irreversible Stage IV and I had to
put my dreams of publishing aside. I needed now to focus 200% on my health, my
family, my job, new treatments, and somehow make peace with the harsh reality
of my frightening statistical survival rate. The irony of the timing was not lost on me.
Here I was trying to push a message of hope and humor out into a world of
people dealing with disease and other simultaneous shit-storms in their lives,
and I’m now fighting for my own. Again.

“Breast Left Unsaid,” this labor of love and time and
energy, now sat dormant on my hard drive gathering virtual dust. I made half-hearted
efforts to push it along when I was feeling up to it but it wasn’t until the
summer when my husband Philip, my amazing tech-wizard All-Around Selfless and
Handsome Partner-Dude, promised to get it over the finish line for me. He
jumped neck deep into the crazy and confusing waters of self-publishing, and
within two months of taking on the project, it was done. On October 10,2012,
Phil called me over to the computer and said, “Congratulations babe, I want you
to hit that publish button right
there.” Then he smiled and said to no one in particular, “My wife is an
author.”

A few days later, I went to my local library, The Mark Twain
Library in Redding, Connecticut, that Mr. Clemens himself built in memory of
his daughter making it a sacred shrine for Twainiacs.I asked the librarian if she’d be interested
in me doing a reading to launch my new book. Her eyes lit up and I knew we had
a deal. It was breast cancer awareness month (or BoobTober), so they slotted me
right in. The local newspaper interviewed me for the event and I alerted
friends via social media.

To my delight the turnout was standing room only! I felt like David Sedaris except for the pencil
skirt and sassy boots. It was then that I decided I would pursue more events
where I can personally tell my story and look into the eyes of my readers.
Slowly and steadily, and in a very gratifying way, I’m selling books. I’ve done several events now and schedule them
for my “good weeks” in between treatments so I can really have some fun with
it.My publicist was phenomenal in
getting me some terrific media spots on national radio, guest blogs, local TV,
etc., for the initial launch. But honestly, I truly love the book events.

Remarkably, “Breast Left Unsaid” is landing in the hands of
a lot more men than I ever anticipated. They send me heartfelt and sometimes
devastating feedback about how they feel they’ve been granted entry into “secret
society” of women and the realities of breast cancer. The medical community has
taken notice and I’m doing a keynote speech at a hospital in New Hampshire
because they want to enhance their patient experience and feel that my book
helps them “see the other side.” I’ve also been asked to be an honorary chair
for Komen Connecticut’s Race for the Cure along with the actress Laura Linney.I honestly couldn’t have planned this if I
tried.

I didn’t write to sell a book. I wrote to tell a story. If I
had tried to engineer it for a particular demographic, it would have been a
less than true account and I would have lost out on reaching the people I have.
And if I couldn’t chat with readers in person and hear first hand that my words
have helped them; I would have missed
out entirely on finally discovering what drove me to write in the first place.

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21 comments:

Jude, what an amazing, inspiring story. Thank you for sharing with us, and congratulations on the success of your first book!! A friend of mine was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and I'm going to buy your memoir for her. Best wishes with the treatment and book tour...xoxo

Thank you, Jess! I get a lot of feedback from cancer fighters and they seem to relate to the book...and best of all, it helps them laugh. I hope your friend is doing okay. Tell her to check out breastcancer.org if she hasn't already...it is a goldmine of information. Be well!!

Thanks Brenda! The cover was designed by Barbara Fisher of Levan Fisher Design in California. She's terrific and very, very patient. She also designed bookmarks for me that I give out at readings. I hope you enjoy the book. Would love your feedback!

As a fellow BC patient (and a member of this GBC blog) who is Sick Of Pink (boobtober is funny - will use that and credit you), kudos on making this journey a positive one for so many! And for choosing such a wonderful and supportive husband! I have a novel coming out in a few (weeks while I'm still in treatment, but an easier part) and have only want to escape from it - but know how hard it can be. Bravo. Let's stay in touch - I'm ordering your book now.

Leslie, Thank you and congratulations on your upcoming novel! The minutiae of dealing with book publishing is pretty harrowing even when you're well - so yes, I understand. And I hope you're doing okay. My email is on my website so feel free to let me know how you're doing and what you think of Breast Left Unsaid. Be well!!